Puget Sound Trip
 

Itinerary:
June 14 Arrive Seattle
June 15 Pike Place Market, ?
We would like to spend the next 3-4 days doing a circle trip of Puget Sound.
June 16 Ferry to Vashon Island, explore and spend the night
June 17 Ferry to Southworth and Pt Townsend? Spend the night?
June 18 Ferry to Whidbey? Whidbey to Seattle?

The only part we have to do is Vashon. We could also just do daytrips from Seattle. We have an 8 and a 6 yr old so any suggestions would be helpful.

June 20 we are headed down to Cannon Beach on the Orgeon Coast for 3 nights. Any routes or places to stop on the way down?

Thank you!

I'd suggest that you consider exploring Olympic National Park--the rainforests out there in particular are not found in many other places. You might consider doing a circle of the peninsula (spending a night or two out there) in lieu of the Puget Sound circle on your way down to Cannon Beach.

Are you visiting family on Vashon, is that the reason for including it?

If you do end up driving from Seattle to Cannon Beach, IMO the nicest route is I-5 south to Olympia, then 12/8 west to 107 to 101 south. On the way you can stop at the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center and lighthouses at Ilwaco on the Long Beach peninsula for a quick and scenic history lesson for the kids. There's also Astoria and the camp where L & C spent their winter south of Astoria if you're particularly interested in history.

You might want to spend an hour or two exploring Alki and West Seattle on the way to Vashon, especially if it's a nice day. You can drive all the way around W. Sea along the water to the ferry and catch some great views and nice parks.

Thanks! We live in the mountains so we are most interested in being near the water....but the rainforest sounds tempting.

We will follow your suggestions for the drive down to Cannon Beach...sounds fun!

We are going to Vashon because my family lived there from 1964 to 1974...and want to show my kids where I spent my childhood. Also - we are staying with friends who live in West Seattle...so will enjoy that area as well.

Any input on routing?
W Seattle - Vashon - Pt Townsend - Bainbridge - Seattle
or
W Seattle - Vashon - Pt Townsend - Whidbey - Seattle
or
other suggestions?
Thank you again.

Ah, cool. And great you'll get to spend time in one of the best parts of Seattle ;-) (I'm a West Seattle-ite myself).

I'd go for Whidbey over Bainbridge, personally. I think Ft Casey up there is a great place to visit with kids.

"One" of the best parts? :)

Whidbey would be my preference over Bainbridge as well. Definitely stop in Langley for a stroll and nibble. There's a fun chocolate shop on the main antique drag.

Not sure how you're choosing your destinations by ferry, but you might want to have a look at the Washington State Ferries web site (www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/ to help with your route planning. Your idea of traveling from Vashon to Southworth by ferry, then driving to PT, is fine, but you may have trouble with the PT-Keystone (Whidbey Island) ferry; it is on a reduced schedule and they are instituting a reservation system to cope with summer crowds.

Port Townsend is my county seat; it's an interesting old town filled with Victorian architecture, plus beaches, parks and a lighthouse that may interest your kids.

I would also choose Whidbey over Bainbridge Island as a destination; Bainbridge is fine but there are many more attractions for a visitor on Whidbey. The other routes off Whidbey/Fidalgo Islands and back to the mainland are the Clinton-Mukilteo ferry and Highway 20, which leads to Interstate 5 around Mount Vernon.

I live on Vashon - it's still lovely but I think you'll find it very different than when you were brought up!

I had a visit briefly in early 1994. Have not been back since. I grew up in Glen Acres...hope to spend some time at a neighbor's home - they still live there.